Stopper



W. M. GROSVENOR.

STOPP'EB.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, [919. 1,332,335. Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

TED STA are OF CE.

STOPPEB.

Application filed May 22, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM M. Gnosvn- NOR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stoppers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to special stoppers for closing or connecting bottles, flasks, vessels and the like especially in connection with laboratory and other apparatus for handling solvents and various chemicals.

One of the most difficult and often dangerous classes of operations in the laboratory deals with the production of organic compounds as by condensation, dehydration, etc. carried out with or in volatile organic solvents, with the solution of materials by boiling, or with the evaporation and recirculation of hot condensed solvent all of which may be carried out under some sort of reflux condenser. This class of operations also includes the fractional evaporation and purification of solvents and recovery of extracted material therefrom. Among volatile solvents are included alcohol, acetone, ether, ethyl chlorid, chloroform, carbon tetrachlorid, carbon bisulfid, amyl acetate, petroleum ether, benzin, benzol, toluol, anilin, etc. Such solvents attack and soften both cork and rubber particularly the latter so that stoppers of such materials are not only spoiled for future use-but are often caused to leak and cause fire during the first operation. They always contaminate the solvent or material dissolved therein or both, so that accurate quantitative work is often difficult if not impossible. Hitherto the only satisfactory method has been by means of ground glass connections. These are expensive and liable to breakage by careless handling or even by the unequal expansion and contraction due to poor tranmission of heat across the ground glass joint. Even these joints are not free from leakage because even the best ground are not gas tight unless lubricated with grease and solvents dissolve out the grease. The rigid character of such joint also makes large apparatus diflicult to handle and set up because of the absolutely perfect alinement of the parts necessary. Then once properly set up and used the outside ground glass piece of the joint often sticks because Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

Serial No. 298,937.

it shrinks on tight over the inside piece. A poor substitute has been practised by using rubber or cork stoppers and wrapping them in very thin tin foil to reduce the surface exposed nd retard the circulation of vapors thereagainst, and reduce the washing away of the stopper material. This foil is so thin that it acts like tissue paper or a thin coat or varnish and no swaging action or flow of the metal is required and such thin foil readily breaks and tears and cannot be used a second time. This substitute may be used for imperforate stoppers because the foil is flexible and can be made to completely cover the inside face of the stopper and though small leaks occur because the foil is folded over the side of the stopper, the stopper itself is not attacked and the vapors only go off into the air and are lost. When, however, a stopper with a hole must be used to provide an exit for gases or return for liquids, it is practically impossible to secure a tight tinfoil joint around these holes and ground glass joints with all their disadvantages have been the only practical solution of the problem hitherto devised. I have discovered that a satisfactory stopper either, perforate or imperforate may be made by taking a suitable elastic body and clothing the same around all parts otherwise exposed to the contents of the bottle, flask or the like with a continuous mantle of protective metal, said metal where it is adapted to engage the bottle, flask, or the like being ductile and unfolded whereby the stopper is capable of swaging itself into a perfectly tight fit with the bottle flask or the like and the elastic means of the stopper will not be attacked by the contents of the bottle, flask or the like.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will more clearly appear from the detail description given below taken in connection with the accompanying sheet of drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of certain laboratory apparatus showing an arrangement of the stopper therein and Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the stopper shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings 1 represents a glass laboratory flask, supported by a stand 2 and adapted to be heated by a Bunsen burner 3. Inserted in the'neck 4. of the flask 1 is the stopper 5 embodying my invention in its preferred form. The stopper 5 has a tubular member 6 extending therethrough which is preferably made of ductile block tin and flared outwardly at its upper end and into this upper end is inserted with a tight fit, a glass tube 7 surrounded by'a glass condenser chamber 8 provided with inlet and outlet connections 9 and 10 for passing a cooling fluid through the chamber 8 to. condense vapors given off from the flask 1 and passing up through the stopper 5 and glass tube 7 the products of condensation falling back through the stopper into the flask 1.

As shown more clearly in Fig. 2 the stopper 5 comprises elastic means, in the special form shown, an elastic rubber body portion 11 surrounding the centrally arranged tin tube 6, and which elastic means is frustoconical or tapered in shape to fit the neck of theflask or the like and is clothed around its sides with a continuous unfolded mantle of ductiletin or other metal12.

The lower edge of the mantle 12 is sol dered or preferably autogeneously welded to the lower edge of the tube 6 so that all parts ofthe rubber or elastic means, which otherwise would be exposed to the contents of the flask, are covered or clothed with a mantle of protective metal, the metal around the sides of the stopper where it engages the flask being ductile and unfolded.

For the covering 12 I preferably use a cone shaped piece of pure rolled block tin, many times the thickness of ordinary tin foil, and having all its surfaces which are likely to contact with the flared neck of the flask or other vessel, plane or unfolded, so that a good swaging action may be obtained and dangerous leaks through folds will not occur. Repeated use tends to produce irregular channels in the covering 12,

but by including the elastic body 11 these are: prevented from becoming so pronounced asto endanger the necks of the flasks and prevent the desirable swaging action. For the covering 12 1 preferably use sheet tin about .015 inch thick or about 5 to 10 times the thickness of ordinary tin foil. Instead of using an elastic filling of vulcanized rubber a conical helix of flat spring steel or other elastic means may be used.. If rubber is used as a filler and vulcanized in place the tube 6 is held firmly in position by the rubber itself, otherwise its connection to the covering 12 must be strengthened by increased thickness or other mechanical de viceand itis better also that the outer end ofthe spring helix should be carried around and attached to the tube to serve as the support. Instead of tinfor the'covering 12 and tube it will be. apparent that for some purposessoftwell annealedsheet goldior silver may be used, and. for. other. purposes alloys containingconsiderablelead may be utilized. Also, the more ductile metals may be advantageously plated with a thin coating of more resistant metal like platinum even though it be less ductile provided a good union between the two metals is secured. Of course other elastic backings may be used within the stopper and when their elasticity is dependent on moisture content (like certain starch products) an upper covermg sheet may be provided on the cone and united with it and the central tube by soldering or rolling, to prevent evaporation of the moisture.

Many other changes and modifications may be made and the invention embodied in widely differing forms, either with or without the hole through the stopper, and

therefore I do not desire to be limited to the specific forms shown or described.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A stopper for flasks, bottles, and the like comprising elastic means having a passage therethrough for the Passage of gases or liquids, and clothed around all parts other wise exposed to the contents of the flask, bottle, or the like, with a continuous mantle of protective metal, the said metal where it is adaptedto engage the bottle, flask, or the like being ductile'and unfolded.

2. A stopper for flasks, bottles and the like comprising elastic means shaped to fit into the opening or neck in the bottle, flask or the like and clothed on itssides and around all parts otherwise exposed to the contents of the bottle, flask or the like, with a continuous unfolded mantle of ductile metal.

3. A stopper for flasks,bottles and the like comprising elastic means tapered to fit into the opening or neck in the bottle, flask orthe like and clothed around all parts otherwise exposed to the contents of the flask, bottle or the like with a continuous mantle of protective metal, said metal around the sides where it is adapted to engage the bottle, flask or the like,,being ductile and un folded.

4. A stopper for bottles, flasks and the like comprising elastic means shaped to fit in the opening or neck in the bottle, flaskor the like and clothed around all parts other wise exposed to the contents of the flask, bottle or thelike with a continuous mantle of protective metal, said metal around the sides where it is adapted to engage the-bottle, flask or the like, being ductile andunfolded, and more than .005 inch thick.

5. Astopper for flasks, bottles and the like comprising elastic means having a passage therethrough for the passage of gases or liquids, and clothed around all parts otherwise exposed to the contents of the flask,

bottle,'or the like, with a continuousmantle of. protective metal,- the 1 said metal where. it

is adapted to engage the bottle, flask or the like being ductile and unfolded, and more than .005 inch thick.

6. A stopper for flasks, bottles and the like comprising elastic means tapered to fit into the opening or neck in the bottle,flask or the like and having a passage therethrough for the passage of gases or liquids and clothed around all parts otherwise exposed to the contents of the flask bottle or the like with a continuous mantle of protective metal, said metal around the sides where it is adapted to engage the bottle, flask or the like, being ductile and unfolded.

7. A stopper for flasks, bottles and the like comprising elastic means tapered to fit into the opening or neck in the bottle, flask or the like and having a assage therethrough for the passage of gases or liquids and clothed around all parts otherwise eX- posed to the contents of the flask,bottle or the like with a continuous mantle of protective metal, said metal around the sides where it is adapted to engage the bottle, flask or the like, being ductile and unfolded and more than .005 inch thick.

8. A stopper for flasks, bottles and the like having in combination a tubular core, an elastic body of conical form surrounding the tubular core, and a mantle of ductile metal clothing the elastic body over all parts thereof which would otherwise be exposed to the contents of the bottle, flask or the like, said mantle being united with the tubular core at its inner end, whereby a perforated stopper is provided with protective coating extending over its sides and all parts of the elastic body which would otherwise be exposed to the contents of the bottle, flask or the like.

Signed at New York in the county of New York, and State of New York this 21st day of May, A. D. 1919.

WILLIAM M. GROSVENOR. 

